1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer systems and more particularly to a method of automatically generating a software installation package that can be used to install an application program in a user's computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been a continuing need for a simple and easy way to install an application program in a user's computer system. At one time this was done manually. The user would obtain an application program, typically on diskettes or other magnetic media, and would manually copy the application files from the magnetic media into one or more directories in the user's computer system. After this was done, the user would manually configure the application. As applications acquired more capabilities and grew correspondingly more complex, this installation process became a time-consuming and error-prone ordeal that often ended in an inoperative system and extreme frustration on the part of the user.
Software publishers have devoted much effort to finding a way to make it easier for users to install application programs. These efforts have led to the development of installation packages that take over the installation process from the user. Such installation packages have been perfected to the point that now they can install an application program almost completely automatically, ensuring that the application will work as desired and relieving the user of this burdensome chore.
Creating an installation package that can reliably install an application program is not a trivial task. The installation package must include all the files of the application program, and these files must be properly configured for the target computer system. In addition, the installation package includes other materials such as data files, scripts, executable programs, or the like. These materials operate more or less automatically to carry out the installation of the application program files. Depending on the operating system and other characteristics of the computer system in which the application is to be installed, creating a new installation package generally requires creating some or all of such materials anew, and this in turn may involve such tasks as writing a new program or creating a complicated data file. The burden of creating these materials falls on the software engineer, who must devote many hours of meticulous effort to this task.
Software tools that can create portions of installation packages are known. However, such tools do not relieve the software engineer of the considerable effort of creating the complete package. For example, one such tool requires the software engineer to manually create an arcane and complicated configuration file specifying many of the details of the installation.
A mass-marketed application program may sell hundreds of thousands of copies and thereby generate sufficient revenue to justify the extensive effort required to produce a good installation package. But many applications, especially those created for use by engineers and others who use computer workstations in environments such as the UNIX.RTM. operating system are distributed singly or in only a few copies (UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Ltd.). It has not been economically justifiable to spend the time necessary to develop good installation packages for such applications. The result has been either that effort is expended out of all proportion to the value of the application, or that the installation package does not get developed at all, or that an inadequate package is prepared. None of these outcomes is satisfactory.
One part of developing an installation procedure for a new application is determining which files to install and where in a target computer system to install them. A script has been developed that attempts to do this by (1) saving a list of all files in the system prior to installation of the new application, (2) saving preselected configuration files prior to installation, (3) installing the new application, (4) saving a list of all files in the system after the installation, (5) saving the preselected configuration files after installation, and (6) comparing to make a list of added files and any configuration changes. This script does not account for any files that are modified during installation (except the preselected configuration files). Thus, although the script performs one step in the process of creating an installation package, most of the work must still be done manually by the software engineer.
One method was developed to automatically generate various parts of the software installation package, saving the software engineer a great deal of time and effort. In copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/619,876, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,777 entitled "Method of Automatically Generating a Software Installation Package," assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference, there is described a method for automatically generating a manifest that lists all application program files which need to be installed, determining needed resources, providing installation materials, and generating the installation package. The method described requires however, that certain steps necessary to generate a software installation package be done manually.
From the foregoing it will be apparent that there is a need to automate the steps that are done manually in the method described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/619,876, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,777 in order to further reduce software engineering effort and increase efficiency.